Oregon's Zumwalt Prairie has been added to the National Natural Landmark system by the National Park Service. It's the 10th site designated in Oregon.

The addition of two landmarks was announced April 16: one in southern Georgia and the other in northeastern Oregon's Wallowa County. In making the announcement, officials at the U.S. Department of the Interior said both at outstanding examples of two ecosystems that have nearly vanished in the United States.

Each site was identified and evaluated through a rigorous process _ including scientific evaluation and public comment _ to formally acknowledge their outstanding biological or geological features. The site in Georgia is Wade Tract Preserve in Thomas
County.

“The National Natural Landmark Program encourages preservation of our nation’s natural heritage as well as enhances our scientific understanding of these unique places,” said National Park Service director Jonathan B. Jarvis, in a statement. “By designating these remarkable sites as national natural landmarks, we recognize two extraordinary examples of landscapes in America that were commonplace at one time, but are now rarely seen intact.”

There are now 596 national natural landmarks. See the list for Oregon and the list for Washington.

Wade Tract Preserve is one of the last old-growth stands of long-leaf pine left in the world. Scientists believe the site illustrates what portions of this region of the United States looked like at the time of European settlement. Trees within the privately-owned landmark range from saplings to well in excess of 300 years old.

Zumwalt Prairie is the best example of bunchgrass prairie remaining in North America. This large, high-quality natural area also contains aspen groves, riparian woodlands, sagebrush shrublands and bottomland wet grasslands. The size and diversity of the site allow it to support large populations of raptors and mammals. The new landmark is owned by The Nature Conservancy and is located within a 33,000-acre preserve. It makes up 4,400 acres of the larger preserve.

In addition to the new designations, an expansion to the boundary of Garden Park Fossil Area National Natural Landmark was also approved. The expanded designation includes five significant quarries highlighting discoveries that include the three most complete stegosaurus skeletons ever found. Garden Park Fossil Area is located in Fremont County, Colorado, and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It is among the most important and diverse late jurassic age fossil sites in North America.

Administered by the National Park Service, the National Natural Landmarks program was established in 1962. It is the only natural areas program of national scope to encourage the preservation of the best remaining examples of the nation’s biological and geological features in both public and private ownership. The federal designation imposes no new land use restrictions that were not in effect prior to designation.

National Natural landmarks are not national parks. They may or may not allow public visitation, depending on the land owners' policies.